The one thing I’ve been missing lately is Chinese food. I could eat it pretty much every day of my life. And even though my local family-owned Chinese restaurant are AMAZING about letting me customize my orders, there is just so much sodium. I’ve recently begun to realize the versatility of cauliflower. You can pretty much make it taste like anything!
Now, if you have been following for a bit, you’ll remember I did something similar with this Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza. So it got me thinking, could I effectively do the same with my personal favorite – sweet and sour cauliflower. I think it was a success!
Using a few graphics from the Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza recipe, let’s just review the technique. I love using this vegan version of buttermilk, i.e. almond milk plus vinegar left to sit for 5 minutes. Works like a charm. Every. Single. Time.
Dust the cauliflower with a flour and garlic powder mixture and tossed with the buttermilk mixture. Into a 375 degree oven until tender and golden on all sides.
Looks a bit like vegetable tempura at this point.
Toss with your sweet and sour mixture and serve over white rice with chopped green onions and parsley. If you’d like more sauce to cauliflower ratio, just double the recipe and reserve some for serving. Doesn’t this look awesome? Yummm… It was delicious!!
Sweet & Sour Cauliflower {Vegan}
Ingredients
- 1 Head of Cauliflower cut into florets
- *****
- For the Batter:
- Vegan Buttermilk 1 Tbl White Vinegar + 1 C Almond Milk β Let set 5-10 minutes to curdle and thicken
- Β½ C All-Purpose Flour
- ΒΌ tsp Garlic Powder
- You could also saute or roast some green peppers onions and pineapple to make this even more traditional!
- *****
- 1 C Rice white or brown
- *****
- For the Sauce:
- 5 Tbl Water
- 3 Tbl Ketchup
- 1 Tbl Hot Sauce
- 1 Tbl Plum Sauce I like Kikkoman
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- *****
- Green Onions & Parsley for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine the vinegar and almond milk. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle and thicken, effectively creating a vegan "buttermilk".
- Cut the cauliflower into florets. Whisk together the flour and garlic powder and toss the cauliflower into that mixture.
- Now coat the floured cauliflower with the buttermilk mixture, draining any excess.
- Put in an oven safe baking dish. Bake until tender, 20-30 minutes. This will depend on how large they are cut. They should pierce easily with a sharp knife and be golden brown in color.
- Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a medium saucepan over low heat.
- Prepare the rice.
- Top (or toss) the baked cauliflower with the sauce mixture and serve over the rice.
- Garnish with green onions and parsley.
Kendra says
careful! most Worcestershire sauce, like Lea & Perrins, is usually not vegan (it contains anchovies).
aimee says
We use a vegan brand, but good to point out for those who aren’t aware! Thanks for the comment π
Ashley says
If we don’t use plum sauce, what are some alternatives?
aimee says
Hi Ashley! You could just omit it entirely as there is only a tablespoon in the entire recipe. It adds color and a little sweet but tangy flavor. I would add the pineapple chunks and the green peppers, maybe even a few red pepper flakes to get a similar effect. You could also use apricot preserves, some vegan brown sugar with the green peppers and red pepper flakes. Either would work just fine π